Midweek Preview: Ospreys Head to Gainesville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - UNF baseball plays its first game against a Power Five foe this season when the Ospreys go to Gainesville Tuesday, March 14 for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Condron Family Ballpark against the No. 5/4 Gators.

GAME DETAILS
Date: Tuesday, March 14
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Opponent: Florida
Watch: SECN+
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com

Starting Pitchers
UNF | RHP Clayton Boroski
UF | RHP Tyler Nesbitt

All-Time Series: UF leads, 17-7

UNF and Florida are meeting for the 25th time
It's the 17th meeting in Gainesville and the fourth at Condron Family Ballpark
North Florida is looking to snap UF's four-game winning streak in the series
UNF's last win came in a 7-1 victory in Gainesville in 2019.

Last Time Out
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - UNF baseball put up crooked numbers in frames six through eight, but Fairfield's early lead was too much to overcome as the Ospreys' (10-7) comeback attempt came up short in a Sunday slugfest with Fairfield, 17-13, March 12.

Last Time vs. Florida
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Ryan Jean had a strong first three innings of work on the hill and Tyler Gerteisen robbed Jud Fabian of a two-run home run in the first, but the Gators (7-2) kept on the pressure as North Florida (1-8) dropped an 11-2 decision to No. 14 UF Tuesday, March 1.

Notables

UNF individuals pace the ASUN in a number of statistical categories: Lodise (HR - 7), Bringling (2B - 7), Runnels (SLG% - .895), Holden (WHIP - 0.80), Halstaed (SVs - 5), Bolton (APP - 9)
Cade Reich is on a team-best 16-game reached base streak, while Lodise has done so in 12-straight games.
Peyton Sybrandt drove in six during Saturday's 16-13 win, the most RBI since 2016 for a UNF player
Stephen Halstead's five saves is good for third in the nation. The righty has earned a save in half of UNF's wins this season. He is a two-time National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Watch List selection

UNF Roots
Blake Pound has homered twice this season, both of which came against Fairfield this past weekend. He joins his father, Joe, as the only father-son duo in UNF history to have homered at UNF. Joe was a member of the UNF baseball team in the 90s.

Austin Brinling attended the University of Florida out of high school, but his UNF connection ran deep before that. Austin's uncle, Tim, is a UNF alum and received a resolution from the UNF senate wishing Austin a happy, healthy and successful life when Austin was born in 2000.

National Noise

UNF has exploded out to 181 hits through 17 games, good for second in the league and 16th nationally.
North Florida's 34 home runs is good for second in the league and 12th nationally. Freshman Alex Lodise is tied for the league lead in home runs with seven, just three shy of setting the UNF single season freshman home run record.
Austin Brinling's hot start to 2023 has continued as he is first in the league with seven doubles, good for 32nd nationally.

Run Up the Roundtrippers

UNF has homered 34 times this season, already only 5 shy of the team total from all 55 games played last season.
UNF hit 18 home runs through the first eight games, setting a North Florida record for at least the DI-era. North Florida has posted eight mult-ihome run games, including two five home run games, good for tied for the UNF DI-era record. The Ospreys have had 11 different players homer at least once this season.

Freshman Phenom

Freshman phenom Alex Lodise has dazzled non-conference foes through the first 17 games of his collegiate career.
The Bartram Trail HS product paces the team in runs (22), hits (23), home runs (7), total bases (50) and is second on the squad in stolen bags with four.
The dynamic shortstop scored five times Saturday, becoming the first Osprey to score five times in a single game since Donnie Dewees did so April of 2015.

Walk-it Off Ospreys

UNF has blown some games open this year, but the Ospreys have also dug deep in one-run games, going 3-1 in one-run games this year
Two of those games have been won via a walk-off, with UNF doing so in a 3-2 win against Murray State and a 7-6 win against Fordham Saturday
Both of those wins have come in extra innings
Jakob Runnels ripped a walk-off pinch hit RBI single in the season opener, while Drew Leinenbach put down a walk-off squeeze bunt Saturday against Fordham

Weekend Streak
UNF has won the first four weekend series of the season, taking two of three from Murray State, Villanova and Fairfield, while sweeping a four-game set with Fordham.

In-State Stretch
Stint in the Sunshine State UNF is playing the last of its 18-game stretch in the state of Florida to start the season.

SCOUTING FLORIDA

Florida enters ranked fifth in the DI Baseball poll and fourth in the USA Today Coaches Poll
The Gators are 15-3 this year, having lost to only JU, Miami and USF. They are riding a six-game winning streak, threy're longest of the year
Florida went 15-15 in the SEC last year but advanced all the way to the SEC Championship game before falling to Tennessee
Florida offensive stats are off the charts this year as the Gators are hitting .352 with 45 home runs as a team
Two-way player Jac Caglianone has put DI Baseball on notice with 13 home runs, a .417 batting average and a 1.77 ERA on the mound
Infielder Josh Rivera is on pace for a career year, leading the team with 31 RBI to go with eight home runs
Florida ranks first in the nation in runs and home runs, as well as second in team batting average

MORE UNF NOTES

You Look Familiar

Jakob Runnels homered twice against his former team, UCF, Tuesday in Orlando
Runnels second home run of the evening came against former Osprey, Zach Chappell, as the Ospreys faced three former ASUN hurlers on the evening.
Former Hatter, Dominic Stagliano, started the game while former FGCU Eagle Najer Victor came on in relief

Newcomer Contributions
13 different Ospreys made their UNF debuts, with nine making their first-career starts this season.

First Game Magic
Eric Fouraker came in as defensive substitution Feb. 22 against USC Upstate and proceeded to single in his first at-bat. He went on to launch a two-run home run to left field in his next trip up, making him the second Osprey in the first five games of the season to homer in their UNF debut, joining Alex Lodise.

At a Glance

UNF's roster features 35 active players,with 18 newcomers. North Florida brings back four starters and 16 that have already earned letters. UNF's coaching staff looks a little different this year as well. Brady Bogart joins in his first season on the staff, serving as an assistant and as the primary pitching coach.
Kyle Brooks returns for his fifth season overall and 2nd in an assistant role.

Preseason Selection

Junior infielder Aidan Sweatt was named to the ASUN Baseball Preseason All-Conference squad. Sweatt is UNF's first preseason-conference pick since future MLB Draft picks Brad Deppermann and Tanner Murphy were selected in 2019.
Sweatt is the first UNF infielder to be tabbed to the preseason team since Alex Merritt was picked back in 2017. He is one of five infielders honored this season in the 14-team league.
The junior is coming off a 2022 campaign that saw him earn Second Team All-ASUN honors. The middle infielder hit .329 with 70 hits, 32 runs, eight doubles, three home runs, 38 RBI and had eight stolen bags.
As a freshman, Sweatt started all but one game, earning unanimous all-freshman honors after hitting .282 with 28 runs and 14 doubles. He is just one game shy of 100 games played for his career and two games started away from 100.

Veteran Lefties

UNF returns two veteran lefties that are projected to earn significant innings as starters this season.
Southpaw Peter Holden found a groove after being inserted into the weekend rotation last April. Holden finished the season with Second Team All-ASUN honors, working his way into the Friday night slot with solid outing after solid outing. He finished the season 4-3 with a 3.41 ERA, one complete game and 68.1 innings worked. He would also be named to the ASUN All-Academic Team.
Local lefty Tony Roca returns with144 innings worked and 126 strikeouts in his fourth season in the Navy and Gray.

Home Grown
As has become the theme for UNF baseball, North Florida's active-35 man roster features 33 players from the Sunshine State. A number of them come from the 904 area or nearby counties. High schools such as Bishop Kenny, Clay, Bartram Trail, Creekside, Paxon, Fletcher, Ponte Vedra and more are featured on the UNF roster.

Sophomore 'Spreys
A number of freshmen during the 2022 season are now primed for their sophomore seasons after contributing significant time last year. Tyler Gerteisen and Drew Leinenbach saw ample time last year, while relievers Clayton Boroski and Scott Griesemer earned valuable experience during their freshman seasons.

Hold It Down Halstead
Righty reliever Stephen Halstead is back for his senior season. The Pensacola, Fla., native was named to the 2022 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List. He is one of the most effective bullpen arms in the league, turning in a 3.07 ERA, .245 opponents' batting average and 60 strikeouts across 40 appearances.

Schedule Notes

34 home games, 22 road games and 43 games in Florida
UNF plays ASUN newcomers: Austin Peay (March 17-19) and Queens (April 28-30)
Eight-game home stand to start the year, the longest since 1994 and tied for the longest in UNF history
19 games against in-state teams
26 non-conference games and 30 in ASUN play
River City Rumble is set for May 18-20 at JU
Four games against Power Five teams (Florida State, South Carolina, and Florida (two))
Fourth-straight year playing at South Carolina
UNF hosts FSU for the first time since 2010
First time playing USC Upstate since 2018, the last year the Spartans played in the ASUN
12 games against first-time foes, made up of four three-game series (Murray State, Villanova, UCA and Queens)
Five games marks the longest road stretch of the year (May 2-9)
Nine-game homestand is the longest of the year (April 6-19)
30 ASUN games
One doubleheader (March 4 vs. Fordham)

Players Mentioned

Clayton Boroski

Austin Brinling

Zach Chappell

Eric Fouraker

Tyler Gerteisen

Tyler Gerteisen

Scott Griesemer

Stephen Halstead

Peter Holden

Ryan Jean

Drew Leinenbach

Alex Lodise

Blake Pound

Cade Reich

Tony Roca

Jakob Runnels

Aidan Sweatt

Peyton Sybrandt

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